Fever Pitch
by constantlycold
Summary: Thorin Oakenshield is the captain of the Gold-Diggers, last in their league and currently short a striker. He is at rock bottom. That is until Gandalf suggests a new player to their team.Pretty much a Football/Soccer AU fic.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One:**

"Dain! Please don't leave us. Give us one more season!"

"Listen Thorin, I'm sorry. I'm forty-three next month. I just can't keep up with you young guns anymore. You will have to find another striker. I'm sorry."

"I understand Dain, I really do. It's just... Do you know how hard it is to find a striker that isn't already playing for a club? All the good ones have already got clubs."

"I'm sorry Thorin" The man did sound sincere. "But I let you know at the end of last season that I wasn't coming back." Thorin sighed. Dain was right. He did tell him months ago, but he had been saying he was retiring for years and he always came back. Thorin honestly thought he would return. This was a nightmare.

"No, you did. Sorry Dain, I thought I could convince you to have another go, but I understand why you don't want to. You're been a good mate!" Thorin quickly finished off the conversation and then hung up the phone.

"Danmit!"He swore. The season was just under three weeks away and now they were down a striker. He could always let Dori play fulltime this season, but Dori wasn't necessarily good, at least not nearly good enough to play fulltime. He sighed. He would need to tell Gandalf. Gandalf would probably tell him they should have dealt with this at the end of last season. He would be right.

He quickly sent Gandalf a quick text asking him to meet him at the pitch. Thorin was the captain of the team, but Gandalf was the manager, normally all the decisions would go to the manager, but Gandalf was very lenient with his roles and often let Thorin do whatever he wanted. Unfortunately Thorin didn't know of anyone he could ask to play striker, especially this late into the off season.

He did a couple laps around the pitch to help settle his nerves. Gandalf would no doubt be angry. Last season their team finished second last in the whole league. They had some good players, but they also had some bad ones. Personally Thorin thought their main weakness was their offence. They had good wingers in Fili and Kili, but both Dain and Bofur were pretty dismal strikers. Bofur was ok as a striker, but he was lazy and usually needed someone else to do the work for him. Dain was good when he was younger, but Thorin had to agree that Dain could hardly keep up anymore.

He had just finished his third lap when he saw Gandalf enter the pitch. He was wearing his usual pointed hat and was using his brown cane. Thorin quickly ran over to him.

"Gandalf! Thanks for coming on such short notice!"

"Nonsense! What is it you need?" He said with a big smile. Thorin had always loved Gandalf. The old man was so affable. He had been nothing but nice to Thorin since he joined the team six years ago.

"I just got off the phone with Dain." He saw a slight rolling of the eyes from Gandalf. It was common knowledge he wasn't a fan of Dain. "He's not coming back this season. I just found out. We are currently out a striker now… I mean, I could always put Dori out fulltime but-"

"Nonsense! Dori is useless. We will be sure to finish last with him up there." Gandalf interrupted.

"I know, but I don't really have any options! I don't know any other strikers out there that don't already have clubs, at least none that are better than Dori."

Gandalf seemed lost in thought for a moment. Thorin was used to this, Gandalf was always losing himself mid-conversation, but this was also when he came up with his best ideas. Suddenly Gandalf's eyes snapped open.

"I know of a young chap that might be willing to play for us." He seemed lost in thought for another moment. Thorin waited. "Yes, I shall invite him to tomorrow's practise on a tryout basis." A smile spread on Thorin's face.

"Excellent, is he any good?" He asked.

He watched Gandalf's face light up. "I think he's very good. He played with my grandson when he was younger." Thorin was impressed. Gandalf's grandson played in the premier league. Anyone good enough to play with him when they were younger would be good enough for him.

"Excellent!"

"Now don't go getting too excited. I have to convince him to play. Also he is a bit on the small size, but don't judge him by that. He's really good." Thorin wanted to ask why he wasn't already with a team, but he decided against it. He didn't care much for size either. They had a big team, between himself and Dwalin in the middle.

"Ok. Make sure he gets here early, so I can talk to him beforehand." He said

"Of course. Don't worry Thorin. I think Mr. Baggins will be a great addition to our team. He is as quick as they come and knows how to put the ball in the net… which is more than I can say about Dain." It was now fairly evident that Gandalf didn't like Dain. He didn't really know why. Sure Dain was slower now but he still was really good in the air, and he was always quick to get a foot on loose balls.

"Alright, just make sure he's here about ten minutes beforehand, and don't tell him he has a spot on the team yet. I wanna see him first. For all I know he might not be any better than Dori." Gandalf rolled his eyes again.

"He will be here ten minutes before eleven Thorin. I will be here as well. I will be damned if we finish second last this year!" Gandalf said as he trampled off with his cane. Thorin laughed. He really did like Gandalf, and he trusted his judgement. He looked at his watch again. He figured he could get a couple more laps in. Tomorrow would be an interesting day. The fact that this new striker played with Gandalf's grandson was excellent, but that only made Thorin wonder why he didn't already have a team, even if he wasn't good enough for pro he probably would still be better than every player in this league. He sighed. He should probably text Balin and Gloin to let them know of the new developments. He could do that after. He took a swig of water before he ran off. Tomorrow would be interesting…

It was ten minutes before eleven. Thorin was waiting. The entire team was already at the pitch and doing a slight warm-up. No one seemed surprised that Dain had left, and they were all anxious to see their new striker. Thorin had to remind them that he officially wasn't on the team yet and not to treat him like a member until Thorin had made a decision.

The team was running and Thorin was setting up pylons for their first drill. He saw Gandalf walking up with a small man next to him. He did a double take. Small was an understatement. When Gandalf said their new player would be on the small side he had assumed he would be 5'7 or 5'8. This guy was smaller than 5'5 and couldn't weigh more than eight stone. He was tiny. There was no way he would be able to play in their league.

He walked over to them to shake their hands and introduce himself.

"Hi! I'm Thorin. I'm the captain of the team." He said as he shook the small man's hand.

"I'm Bilbo Baggins. Gandalf told me you were looking for a striker?" He gave the kid another once over. He was small for sure, with big blue eyes and shaggy blonde hair. He also looked quite young. He was looking at Thorin like a lost puppy.

"Uhhh, yes." He looked to Gandalf. Surely he couldn't be serious about this guy joining the team. He would no doubt be crushed before they even had their first game.

"Alright. I know it's a tryout but did you just want me to join in with the rest of you?" Bilbo asked with a bright smile. He was clearly happy to have been given this opportunity. Thorin could now see the reason Bilbo Baggins didn't have a club. Thorin was torn. The kid looked so happy just to be here, but at the same time there was no way he could play for them. A player his size would be targeted immediately and would no doubt be injured before the first game ended.

"Um. Listen Bilbo" He clasped a hand on the kid's shoulder. "I can tell your hearts in the right place, but I don't think this would be a good fit." He felt so awful saying it, but it was the truth. He saw the kid's whole face fall. He dropped the bag that was hung over his shoulder to the ground in anger.

"Is this because I'm small?!" He asked, clearly frustrated.

"Listen Bilbo-"

"No! You should at least let me try out. If you don't think I'm good enough skill-wise to keep up with you than that's fine, but don't reject me simply because I'm a bit smaller than everyone else." Thorin was going to mention that by a _bit_ smaller he meant at least five inches, but decided against it. He looked into Bilbo's face and could see the frustration of no one ever giving him a chance. Gandalf took this as a good time to open his mouth.

"Nonsense Bilbo. I shall be the one picking the team in the end. You go and get ready and warm up with the rest of the team while I have a word with Thorin." Gandalf said as he patted Bilbo on the back. Bilbo smiled and picked up his bag and ran off to finish the run with the team.

"Gandalf, I can't take him. Look at him. He's not going to be able to hold his own against the defenders in this league, especially not Azog!" Gandalf didn't look convinced.

"I think Bilbo will surprise you. In fact he might even surprise himself. Trust me Thorin. I would not have invited the lad if I didn't think he would be able to help the team." Thorin had to admit that Gandalf had an eye for talent. He still didn't feel comfortable with the idea of a player Bilbo's size on his team.

"Well I cannot guarantee that he won't get hurt. I'm not going to be responsible for anything that happens to him." As long as he made that clear, he might be able to make it through the tryout.

"Understood. Now go out and work those boys hard. I want to make sure everyone's been keeping in shape during the off-season, especially Bombur. Just because he's keeper doesn't mean he can lay off of fitness practise. Not this year!"

"Yes sir!" He responded as he left the side of the pitch to call the team in. There were thirteen members of the team. Fourteen if you included Bilbo. One of the reasons Thorin wanted a new player was so they could still keep on substitute player for each position. They didn't have an extra keeper, but Bombur was steady and in the event of him getting injured, Oin would always go in goal.

He took in the team as they all came in. Bombur was the keeper. Bifur, Oin and Gloin were the defence. Dwalin played the center defence/stopper position. Balin and Thorin both played in the midfield while Kili and Fili both played on the wing. That left Bofur and for now, Bilbo as the strikers. Dori, Ori and Nori were their three subs.

He looked over to Bilbo, besides his size disadvantage he also stood out as being the only player not wearing their team practice kit. The whole team was dressed in their plain white jerseys and shorts, with black socks. Bilbo was wearing a maroon colored shirt with blue socks. He gestured for Bilbo to come to the center with him.

"Alright guys. This is Bilbo Baggins. He is trying out for Dain's old position" He heard a couple snickers come from the direction of Dwalin and Nori. He silenced them with a quick look. "Anyways, just be nice and welcoming ok?" He gave the team a dirty look. It's not that they weren't nice, but a lot of them were set in their own ways and didn't like change.

"Now, I noted some of you suffering just trying to do a couple laps around the field. That's going to stop ok? We play most Saturdays and Tuesdays. We have the field booked for Mondays and Wednesdays and I want us all at the gym for Sundays and Thursday's ok?" He heard a groan from most of the team.

"I don't care. We might be able to lose that second fitness practise once we get going but I can tell you guys haven't been working out in the off-season. That's gunna change if we want to have any chance not finishing in the bottom three this year." He knew a seven day schedule was rough, but they all knew what they signed up for. They were one level below pro.

"Now for now I just want you guys to get some touches on the ball. Bombur you get in the net. I want Kili, Fili and Ori feeding the balls in from the wing. Bofur, I want you, Bilbo and Balin to try to score, while Oin, Gloin and Bifur defend ok? Dwalin you sub around each position with Dori. I'm going to watch for now. It's easy enough" The drill wasn't really for the team as much as it was a chance for Thorin to watch Bilbo.

He quickly played the ball over to Kili and watched everyone run into the zone. Kili lobbed the ball in from about the eighteen-yard box He watched as the ball soared over Bofur's head and managed to come down right at Bilbo's feet. Bilbo didn't even wait for the ball to touch the ground, he one-timed the ball straight into the lower right-hand corner of the net. Thorin stood in shock. It had to have been a lucky shot. Most times anyone shot the ball without taking the time to control it the ball ended up thirty feet over the net. Bilbo managed to control it right into the lower corner. _Lucky shot indeed_ he thought as he watched Bilbo comment on the nice pass.

"Gloin! You have to make sure you get first to those balls. No way should he be beating you to that." He called out. As much as it was an excellent shot by Bilbo, Gloin should have been more aggressive.

"Probably scared he's gunna hurt the little guy." He heard Dwalin say in his Scottish brogue.

"That's not my problem. I don't care if he hurts him. His job is to stop him." Thorin responded before he played a new ball into Fili who was on the opposite wing. He watched as Fili lobbed the ball right in. his ball was not nearly as high a Kili's and it managed to go directly to his target. Bilbo managed to chest the ball down. He managed to fake going to the left twice before he turned to the right. His move completely fooled Gloin who went in the complete opposite direction. Bilbo was then left alone and easily slipped the ball past Bombur, who was diving out to stop him. He jumped up as he scored.

"Damnit!' Thorin swore. He had to admit it was a great move by Bilbo, especially in such little space, but Gloin should have been better.

"He's too timid. Dwalin go in for Gloin and please don't be afraid to touch him."

"Aye sir." Dwalin said as he quickly made his way over to where Gloin was.

"Gloin, you've got to do better than that. That's a weak effort. Go do two laps!" Gloin looked pissed off but he did as he was told.

Thorin passed the ball back to Kili's side again. He watched as Kili kicked it in. This time Bofur managed to get a head on it, but it soared way over the net. He clapped anyways.

"Good effort guys. Nice pass Kili, way to get to it Bofur!" He called before he passed the ball over to Fili. This time Fili's ball was over Bilbo's head. Dwalin managed to head the ball clear of the box.

"Good job Dwalin. Way to be aggressive there." He didn't mention that the only reason he got to that ball first was because of his size advantage. Dwalin (along with himself) were the tallest players on the team.

He passed it back over to Kili this time. He lobbed the ball over Oin and Bofur's heads and once again it connected with Bilbo's left boot as he drilled it in the bottom corner. It was almost exactly the same play as before. He didn't understand how Bilbo could get there so fast. Dwalin was their best defender. He hated to call him out, but he could see Gloin returning from his two laps.

"Come on Dwalin, drink one too many during the off-season? No way should he be beating you to that. Bombur, you have to be more aggressive on those too. Help out your defense ok?" Dwalin looked pissed but Bombur nodded.

"Let's see a good ball in Fili" He said was he passed it over. Fili's ball was not a good ball in Thorin's opinion. His pass was on the ground and went right to Bilbo's feet. Bilbo pivoted and was about to turn to the right when Dwalin noticed what he was doing and sprang forward, effectively bowling over the undersized striker whilst getting the ball. Bilbo fell hard to the ground and Thorin was sure he had broken a bone in his frail body. He ran forward to make sure he was ok.

To his surprise as he got closer he could hear laughter coming from the ground. Bilbo was laughing.

"It's about time someone actually touched me." He said as he slowly eased himself up. "I thought I'd go the whole practice kicking the ball in the net. I'm not going to break." He said with a quiet laugh.

"You sure you're ok?" Thorin asked.

"Yes. I'm fine. If I was 6'2 and fell after a hit like that you would be laughing and telling me to get off my arse. Football is a contact sport. I can handle it." He said with a bright smile.

Thorin couldn't help but smile back. The kid's smile was infectious. "Well then. Next time, don't be so cute. Fili was open for you to pass back to. Next time use him."

"Yes sir."

After that the practise went quiet well. Thorin could tell Bilbo was very skilled. He was by far the best player on the pitch (including Thorin himself). He was not intimidated by bigger players at all. In fact he was utterly fearless when it came to challenging for balls. Once or twice he had to call him back for challenging poor Bombur too hard. It was only a practice after all. With about ten minutes left he saw Gandalf slowly making his way out onto the pitch. Thorin rolled his eyes. Gandalf was probably here to rub it in. He walked over to meet him half way.

"Are you here to tell me you told me so?" He asked with a smile on his face to show Gandalf he wasn't serious

"Me? No. I told you before, it was my decision anyways. If I said Bilbo Baggins was our striker, then our striker he is. It was you who doubted him." Gandalf replied.

"Well, I daresay he looks more like a grocer than a football player." Thorin joked.

"And that's precisely why no one else wants him on their team. You've seen past that and can see he is clearly one of the best players in this league." Thorin had to admit he felt bad for Bilbo. He was clearly very skilled, yet everyone assumed he was no good just because of his size. He remembered how excited he looked at the beginning of practice.

"Well that's their problem. Seriously, Gandalf, with Bilbo up front I really think we can go far this year. We've got a strong defence, and now we've got a star striker! Seriously, I don't know where you found the kid but why you didn't bring him sooner."

"You would not have listened Thorin. Not with that old fart Dain playing. Besides, it matters not, now. Here." He placed a bag that obviously must have held Bilbo's team kits in Thorin's hand. "Be a good lad and tell Bilbo you were wrong for doubting him, and that he is now a part of the Gold-Diggers." Thorin smiled.

"Yes sir!" He said as he backed away from Gandalf and ran back to observe the drill the boys were doing. He saw Kili sitting out this round and he asked him to cover for Bilbo. A couple minutes later he saw the small, sweat soaked striker walking to him.

"Thorin?" He asked. The poor kid looked so nervous. It was a sin. Obviously he was the best player out there, yet he was still worried whether or not he made the team.

"Yes, Bilbo. I'm sorry about earlier…" Thorin hated admitting he was wrong. If he had any faults, he knew it was his pride. He could see Bilbo's face light up. "I should never have doubted you. I thought you would be weak and easily intimidated but, I've never been so wrong in my life. Welcome to the Gold-Diggers!" He said as he brought the bag with Bilbo's kits forward.

To his complete surprise Bilbo ignored the bag and suddenly Thorin felt himself engulfed in a huge hug. Bilbo had practically jumped on him.

"Oh thank you so much! I won't let you down. I promise" He heard Bilbo cry.

"Good." He said as he eased Bilbo back so he could look to his face. "I'm going to put you as our number one striker. You will be playing with Bofur most of the time so it might be good to get to know him a bit. Just because you are starting out as our number one guy doesn't mean you will stay there. You gotta work hard to keep yourself there ok?"

"Yes, of course."

"Ok, so in the bag is our game schedule. Like I said it's mostly Saturday's and Tuesday's, except for the odd away game. I expect to see you at all practices, especially the fitness ones." Bilbo looked surprised. Thorin smiled. "You might be able to outrun everyone on this team but you're not going to get far in this league at eight stone."

"I'm not eight stone! I'm stronger than I look!" Bilbo said, trying to defend himself.

"Good, you can show me at the gym tomorrow." Thorin said with another smile. "Now, get back out there, tell Bofur I need to talk to him." He watched as Bilbo ran back to the team and joined in with the game of "Chip it" they were playing. He sighed as he watched him. He couldn't get over how much his opinion of the young striker had changed in the past two hours. Going into this first practice he was convinced they would leave without a striker, and then Dori would be playing full-time. They would probably finish near the bottom of the league again. With Bilbo it seemed they had a chance, finally a striker who seemed to be able to put the ball in the back of the net. Looking at his other teammates it looked like they liked Bilbo just as much. He almost laughed as he saw Bofur running towards him. Perhaps this season won't be as bad as he thought.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the delay! The whole moving to a foreign country without a place to live or a job thing has kinda kept me a bit busy... On the plus side, I should be updating more frequently now.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own. If I did, there would be more Middle-Earth movies.**

**Another note... I'm not very clear on what kind of league this is set in. It's pretty much my own make belief league. It's not professional soccer, but it's only like one tier below. So it's pretty serious and lots of people watch the games and stuff.**

* * *

Three weeks later and Thorin wished he could take back his thoughts about the team being much improved with Bilbo. While it was great to finally have a striker who could put the ball in the back of the net, it wasn't going to help if their defence wasn't strong.

"Gloin! You've got to be first to those balls! Smaug will run right by you if you can't keep up!" He knew he was being harsh, but Gloin was one of their better defenders. He had to be at his best. "Go do two more laps." He caught Gloin's long face. "You're going to be running the whole time at fitness practise tomorrow."

"Sorry man. It's the little one at home. He's keeping me up day and night! I hardly had time for daily runs throughout the off-season." He complained.

"No excuses! Make it three laps!" He ignored Gloin's parting comment as he ran off. He knew he was being really harsh, but he really wanted to push them farther. He was sick of finishing near the bottom of the league.

"Bilbo, you gotta be more aware of where you are on the pitch. You're lucky Gloin was slow to react. Another defended in the league and you might run right into him. I don't want to see you get hurt or take a foul." He neglected to mention that they really couldn't afford to see him go down. He was the only one who seemed to be able to score. He initially thought Bofur would benefit from playing with a talented striker, but so far he could barely hit the net. Even Kili and Fili have had trouble putting the ball in the back of the net. He wasn't too concerned with the brothers though, they both had a history of being a bit streaky, besides, it was only practice. The real games start in two days.

He watched as Bilbo slowly nodded while not making eye contact. The poor kid looked like he was going to cry. He had his head down and Thorin suddenly felt terrible. There was something about Bilbo that got to him. He hated to criticize him, the look on his face always made Thorin feel like he had been punched in the gut. None of the other players made him feel like that, not even the younger ones like Kili or Fili (although since they were his cousin's maybe that made them different). Bilbo had such an expressive face. It was easy to tell what he was feeling.

"Alright, everyone do one lap and then take a water break. We are going to work on corner kicks after this so be ready to get into the proper formation." He watched as everyone slowly walked to the edge of the field to being their lap. Maybe he was pushing them a little hard. He watched the group run as he slowly picked up the pylons from their recent drill.

He noted that Balin was in the back of the group and struggling to keep up. Balin was one of Thorin's oldest friends. He had joined that team only at Thorin's request. He was also the oldest member of the team and it was obvious he didn't have the endurance of some of the younger players, but Thorin thought that he still proved his worth. He was a great veteran presence and he was always helping the younger players with some foot work. He may not physically be able to keep up, but he was still one of the best ball handlers on the team.

While Balin was at the back of the group he noted that Bilbo was in the front. He seemed to be pushing himself to be the first one to finish their lap. It wasn't a race at all, but Thorin suspected that Bilbo was still trying to prove his worth to him. He didn't know why, he had already told him he had a spot of the team. He stopped to watch Bilbo run.

The kid was incredibly light on his feet and seemed to be able to run forever. That was really good since Thorin had no intentions of taking him off during the games, which meant he would have to play the full 90 minutes. He was still concerned with Bilbo's size. He had tried to bring it up with him while they were at a fitness practice the other day. Obviously Bilbo couldn't do anything about his height, but Thorin thought he could at least work out a bit to gain a bit more mass. He was genuinely concerned that the kid would get hurt. Bilbo had just scoffed at him and spent the entire practice on the treadmill. Oddly enough, Thorin didn't question him or force him to lift weights. He was completely ok with watching him run. Not that he watched him run the whole time. He had his own workout to do, but he couldn't help but glance over every few minutes to watch. If anyone else scoffed at him like that they would be doing nothing but bench presses for a week.

He didn't know what was wrong with him. Bilbo seemed to bring out a whole new side of him. He didn't know why he felt this way for a guy he barely known for a month. Bilbo should be like any other member of the team, except he wasn't. He shook his head in confusion. Whatever it was, he was going to have to figure it out before their first game. He didn't need any distractions this year.

* * *

_Another grueling practice done, _Bilbo thought as he stretched out his arm. As physically taxing as these practices were he was finally beginning to get back into the hang of it. It's been over a year since he actually played competitively, he didn't realize how much he missed it.

"Excited for your big debut there, Bilbo?" He heard Bofur say as he felt an arm wrap around his neck from behind. He laughed and managed to squirm his way out of the older man's hold.

"Yes! Excited and ready to start!" He was still a bit nervous talking to his new team. Everyone was really nice, especially Bofur, who seemed to make it his mission to help Bilbo fit in. Still though, he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous, especially when Thorin was involved.

"You'll do fine! I'm thinking you will score at least four! Maybe five!" He laughed at that too. He had to admit he was a bit worried with all the expectation everyone was placing on him. Ever since his first practice everyone had acted as though he was the savior of the team and they were suddenly were going to be competing for first place. While he would admit he thought the team was good, he was very aware that they have been finishing around last place every year.

"Maybe, we will see how many posts you hit. How many was it today?" He asked. Bofur seemed to have a talent for hitting the post.

"Hey! That's a low blow. You just wait. I'm saving it all for the real games." Bofur responded.

"What was your record last year Bofur? Was it three or four posts in one game?" he heard Fili ask Bofur immediately abandoned Bilbo and went to attack Fili. It was all in good fun. Of course attacking Fili was only asking for trouble, because then his younger brother would always jump in. It wasn't long before Kili had jumped into the little play fight going on. Soon enough everyone was involved, those who weren't fighting we yelling and cursing. It was like a jungle.

If there was one thing that Bilbo had learned about his new team, it was that they were very close. A lot of them have been playing football together for a long time. There were almost no personal boundaries with them. Bilbo noticed that after the first practice when they had all ran into the dressing rooms and started stripping out of their sweat soaked uniforms. He was almost appalled. Bilbo himself was very modest and private, even on the other teams he played on in his youth he was never one to strip in front of everyone. He felt very awkward as he made his way over to the private changing rooms. No one seemed to mind.

The play-fighting immediately stopped as Thorin made his way into the room. If was like a gun went off in the room as everyone stopped what they were doing and looked to the center of the room where Thorin stood. It was easy to tell why Thorin was the captain of the team. He just had a regal authority about him, everything about him screamed leadership. Bilbo had to admit he even looked the part. He was the definition of tall, dark and handsome. He was over six feet tall and broad shouldered. He had dark hair, dark eyes and had a constant five o'clock shadow that somehow made him look mysterious. He was quite a sight. He probably had girls fawning at his feet after each game.

"Enough playing around guys! Hear me out for a few minutes" That was all it took for everyone to settle down at their own stall and listen.

"Good practice today guys. I think we will be really dangerous from set plays this year." They had spent the entire practice working on set plays. Bilbo thought almost every potential play was drilled into his brain.

"Oin, make sure you ice that ankle of yours. We need you at 100 percent for the game this week. Our first game is against The Eagles on Saturday. They finished around the middle last year." He paused to make sure everyone was listening. "We _are_ better than these guys ok? It's easily a winnable game. They've got a good enough offence but their defence is slow and weak. We have a brand new striker who they won't know about" Bilbo then found everyone's eyes on him. It made him slightly uncomfortable. "Let's make sure we use him ok?"

He heard the team roar in approval. This was just making him more and more nervous. On his previous teams he had never been the one counted on to be the leading scorer. In fact, he didn't even get to start the games. He usually came on as a sub and was lucky to see more than ten minutes a game.

"Alright! Now I need to talk to Gandalf about the starting line-up." He paused for a moment, his face growing more serious. "Gandalf wants me to let you guys have the day off tomorrow. He wants to give you guys a break. You know what I think?" No, Bilbo didn't want to know what he thought. They have been practicing in some form every day for the past three weeks. The prospect of a day off was almost too good to be true. He really just wanted to put his feet up and read a book.

"I think he's wrong. I think you guys are still slow and unfit. If our defence is anything like it was today then I think The Eagles are going to run circles around us!" To say that was a bit harsh was an understatement. "It doesn't matter if we have a new striker, because we are never going to get the ball up to him if our defence is crap!" Thorin was fuming now. Bilbo had no idea what had gotten into him. He seemed fine at practice ten minutes ago. "Anyways, that's what I think. I'm going to be at the gym tomorrow, but it's not mandatory. I don't expect to see you lot there." With that Thorin stormed off to Gandalf office (or so Bilbo assumed) he was still clad in his practice kit. The room was utterly silent when he left.

"Who stuck a horse up his arse?" He joked, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Oh, Thorin has good reason to be angry at this time of year laddie." He heard Balin say.

"Why's that?" He was generally curious about their team captain.

"You really don't know anything of his history?" He saw the whole team look to him now. He had no idea what Thorin's history was. All he knew was that he had been playing with the Gold-Diggers for several years.

"No, not really. I know he's been with this team for a while, but that's about it." He was being honest.

"Well do you know he used to play for The Dragons?"

"What? No." That was a shock. The Dragons were by far the best team in the league. They've finished in first place for the past several years. Thorin _hates_ them! He had no idea he played with them. "I… I thought he hated them?"

"Oh he does. For good reasons too." Balin said as he leaned back to take his shin-guards off.

"He started off in this league playing with them, many years ago. He was their star. If you think they are good now you should have seen them with Thorin in the middle. They were unstoppable. No one wanted to play against them, especially with Azog in the back end."

"Who is Azog? I keep hearing you guys mention him, but I don't know who he is." He asked.

"Seriously? You don't know who _Azog the Defiler_ is?" He heard Kili ask. _Azog the Defiler_ sure sounded like a bad guy. He didn't know if he _wanted_ to know the rest. He slowly shook his head.

"Oh, he's only about the biggest and dirtiest defender in the league." Fili said.

"He's gotta be at least 6'8, he's built like a wrestler. He's pale as the moon and some say he's even got fangs for teeth!" Kili added.

"Fangs for teeth? You can't be serious?"

"Ok, maybe not fangs, but their sharp as hell. His face is all scarred too. Some say it's from bar fights, but there are rumors he did it to himself." They had to be joking now.

"What? Does this guy even exist?" Surely this was just Fili and Kili playing him.

"Oh he exists laddie. Despite all the rumors and whatnot." He was pretty sure it was Dwalin who said that.

"Why is he called _The Defiler_?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

"Like they said. He's the dirtiest player in the league. Not two games go by without him hurting a player. He's actually a good defender, but he's dirty."

"Why's he still in this league then? Why hasn't he got kicked out?"

"Quite frankly, the refs are scared of him. He can be quite the intimidating figure."

"So what? He just gets away with everything?" This was ridicules.

"Well he sometimes gets called, but he's never carded. He gets so angry whenever the ref does call him. He usually calls the ref stupid and threatens him. Claims the only reason the other guy fell was because of his size-advantage. Trust me Bilbo. The boys weren't exaggerating when they said he was at least 6'8." Bilbo gulped. There was no way he was going to be able to play against someone like Azog. He could literally feel the colour drain from his face. He was beginning to feel a bit faint.

"What's a matter buddy? I'm sure you will be able to elude him." Bofur said as he clapped him on the back. He shook his head. No. There was no way he would be able to compete against Azog.

"Enough about Azog, the poor kid looks like he's about to faint. You alright laddie?" He was pretty sure that was Balin who asked the question. He couldn't see. He realized he had shut his eyes. He just nodded his head in approval. He would be fine once he got the image of a huge, pale giant out of his head.

"Yes, Thorin used to play with Azog, but he was never happy there. The team was too cocky. They would play pranks on the other teams after games. If you managed to score a goal against them, chances are your car tires would be slit after the game." Balin continued.

"Thorin did that?" He asked. He didn't think Thorin would be one to tolerate stuff like that. Heck, if you showed up more than a minute late for practice you would be running laps the whole time.

"No. He hated it. He was the captain of the team, but no one listened to him. It was things like this that created a rift between him and the others, especially Azog."

"What happened between them?"

"It all came to a halt seven seasons ago. Thorin was captain of the team and they looked to be on their way to their fifth straight championship. It was the finals and they were playing The Wizards." Bilbo nodded. He had heard of the Wizards. They were one of the other top teams in the league.

"The game was pretty close. The Wizards are a great time. Anyways, the game was tied at 2-2 at the end of the game. It went into overtime and still no one managed to score. After that it was time for penalty kicks." Balin paused for a moment. Bilbo noticed that everyone had gone silent. The whole team was listening to Balin tell the story.

"The shootout got to the fifth players. The Wizards scored on their shot. Thorin was up next. He needed to score to keep the game alive. Everyone was watching, the fans, the scouts _everyone_. It was one of the most intense moments of my life and I wasn't even playing." Bilbo could picture it in his head, Thorin getting ready to take a penalty, the crowd roaring. It was moments like this that he lived for.

"What happened?" He asked, urging Balin to continue the tale.

"His kick went at least five feet over the net, maybe more. The Wizards won the championship."

"Oh" There wasn't much else he could say to that.

"Thorin was blamed for the team's loss. He was kicked off the team not two days later." Balin finished.

"What? Just because he missed the kick? The whole team lost it! Not just him..." That was really unfair. It's a team sport. The whole team should be responsible for the loss, not just Thorin.

"Yes, it was the team's first loss in four years. Thorin was the captain, and he missed the shot. I mean, it wasn't like the keeper saved his shot. He missed the net by at least five feet. In their opinion, he shanked it." Bilbo was shocked. He thought that was totally unfair. "Azog was made captain, and they've won every game since."

"So Azog the Defiler is the captain of The Dragons?" He asked.

"Yeah, and now they are the dirtiest team out there." Fili answered.

"What did Thorin do after that?" He asked.

"Well, obviously he was upset about what happened, but he wasn't upset to leave The Dragons. Like I said, he hated them. Turns out his father used to be friends with Gandalf and when Gandalf heard about what happened he offered him a spot on his team. It was third division, not quite the top tier he was used to, but he took the spot. That was seven years ago. Over the years he's recruited all of us to play for him. I think Dain was the only original player of the Gold-Diggers and he retired after last season. Over the years we've move from the bottom of the third division all the way up to the top division. We've been here a couple years, but we've been finishing near the bottom. If we finish near the bottom this year then we will probably be moved down to the second division again."

"Wow, so Thorin pretty much made this team what it is?" He probed, wanting more information.

"Pretty much, laddie. I mean he runs a pretty tight ship. He might seem like an arse, but he knows what he's doing. He's grown up around football. It's all he knows. He's a great leader. You will see what I mean once you get to know him more. There's not a man on this team who wouldn't do anything for him. Right lads?"

"Aye!" He heard from Bofur. "You will see what we mean once we win our first game!" He ruffled Bilbo's hair a little. An act he was becoming more and more used to. "You might not have seen from the practices, since he runs them, but he's an excellent midfielder, probably one of the better players in the league. Just don't ask him to take a penalty kick." He added.

"Why? Does he not take them anymore?" That surprised Bilbo. He would have figured a guy like Thorin would have easily got over missing the big kick.

"No, Thorin hasn't taken a kick since that day with The Dragons. Not even when we got in that shootout two years ago. He refuses, and really… can you blame him? Taking penalties isn't for everyone. It doesn't make him any less of a player." Now that he thought about it. He didn't recall Thorin taking any penalty kicks at practice today. It was decided that rather he or Balin would take the kick if they had the opportunity. Come to think of it, Thorin didn't take any offensive free kicks either. Those belonged to Kili or Fili.

"That's enough of a history lesson, lads! Let's talk about something important. Like, where are we going to eat tonight?" Bombur was quick to change the subject when it was clear everyone was done talking. Bilbo took this as an opportunity to quietly make his way to the private changing rooms. He couldn't help but wonder if Thorin would be coming back soon. He normally ran out to Gandalf's office after practice. He never returned before Bilbo left, but Bilbo wanted to talk to him. He never really got a chance to at practice, and anytime that the team went out he was usually talking to Dwalin or Balin. He could never really catch him alone. His mind drifted back to what Thorin said about the gym tomorrow. Bilbo was pretty sure that none of the other guys were going to go. As much as he was looking forward to a day off tomorrow, he couldn't pass up an opportunity to talk to Thorin, especially if they were alone.

He quickly turned the shower on and striped out of his practice kit. He let the hot water spray over his neck and shoulders. His body was so sore, but it felt good to be this active again. He really liked the team. They were all pretty accepting of him taking Dain's place. He was so happy. For once in his life he had a chance to be a starter. He never got to start on his previous teams, most likely do to his size, even though he was usually better than the players starting. He was grateful that Thorin was about to see past that. He knew he was a good player, but no one ever gave him a good chance. He was sick of playing in the little beer leagues. He was so much better than everyone playing. He just wished he could get a better read on Thorin. It was decided then. He would go to the gym tomorrow. He wouldn't push himself or work out too hard, but he wanted some alone time with Thorin and this seemed to be the best way to get it.

* * *

As it turns out, going to the gym when he knew Thorin would be the only one there didn't turn out to be a good idea. It was their team's personal gym, so the only ones allowed in were members of their team. And since everyone made it clear they weren't going to be there, that left Thorin and Bilbo as the only ones, and quite frankly, it was very awkward. As quietly as he could he sauntered his way into the changing rooms.

"Bilbo! Glad to see you could make it!" Thorin greeted him at the doors. It was exactly two minutes past their eleven o'clock start. He was already dressed in his workout clothes.

"Yeah. I see no one else showed?" He asked even though he already knew the answer.

"Nope. I figured as much since Gandalf gave them the day off. He is the boss after all. Still, I hoped more would show." That was the most Thorin had spoken to him since their first meeting.

"Yeah well, Gandalf might be the boss, but you're the one we have to listen to on the field, so that's why I showed." He said with a shrug. It wasn't entirely untrue.

"Yeah I could tell they weren't going to come, though. Those guys will do anything for a lazy day." He placed his hand on Bilbo's shoulder to stop him from lacing up his trainers. "You can take the day off Bilbo. I'm not going to make you work out when no one else is."

"You are."

"Yeah, but I'm the captain. I have to set a good example."

"And you are. That's why I'm here" He said as he continued putting on his trainers. He tried to ignore Thorin's eyes on him. He knew the man was judging him.

"Ok then. You just going to do cardio the whole time?" Thorin asked. Bilbo just shook his head and started tightening his laces.

"Yep." He didn't understand Thorin's obsession with having him properly work out. It wasn't his game. His game relied on him being lithe and quick. He occasionally used the bike just to change his routine, but he was content to run the whole time. Besides, it was almost impossible to him to put on weight. If Thorin saw how much he ate, he would realize that.

"Listen Bilbo-"

"I'm not going to change my routine Thorin. It's been working well for me so far. If I get hurt after the first game then yeah, I will change it." With that he stood up and quickly made his way to the treadmills. He spared a quick glance to see if Thorin was following him. He wasn't. He was making his way over to where the punching bags were. Great… Thorin was going to go all macho on him. This was not going anything like how he had planned it. He took a deep breathe to calm himself before he fished his IPod out of his pocket and quickly plugged his buds in. He didn't need to listen to the sound of Thorin repeatedly hitting the bag. He would just listen to his music. He slowly worked himself up to a warm-up place, trying his hardest to not even glance over to where Thorin was.

It was over an hour later that his IPod decided to remind him he didn't charge it the night before. It suddenly shut itself off and Bilbo was brought out of his running trance. He loved running, especially when he had music to listen to, he always found himself getting lost to the music. He could run for hours without realizing it. He slowly worked himself down to a cool-down pace. His legs were sore. He probably should have taken the day off. Running wasn't a chore for him, but his body probably would have benefited from the rest. When he was down his cool-down he ran his hand across his face to wipe off the sweat.

Damn he was hot! As much as he loved running, he hated the aftermath, feeling hot and sticky with sweat. He ran a hand under his shirt to stop it from sticking to his body. He wondered if Thorin would be ok with him leaving early. Normally they worked out for an hour and a half. He still had about twenty minutes left, but considering Thorin said he didn't have to bother today maybe he would be ok with Bilbo leaving early. He turned around to see where Thorin was and he instantly regretted it.

Thorin was defiantly still there. He was currently working out on some arm/shoulder machine. What surprised Bilbo was that he had discarded his shirt at some point during his routine. He didn't know why it surprised him. It always got hot and he was used to seeing everyone shirtless, but he had never seen Thorin without a shirt on.

He was quite a sight. He was broad shouldered and had a lean and compact build. He honestly looked like something out of a magazine. His chest was well defined with muscle and was covered with the perfect amount of dark hair that formed into a trail along his flat stomach and ended at the hem of his shorts. Bilbo could see the muscles in his arms move with whatever exercise he was doing. He looked like a God.

"Like what you see?" Thorin asked, a smirk forming on his face.

Bilbo immediately felt his face go red. He had been caught staring. How embarrassing. It wasn't as though he had never seen shirtless men before. Heck! He had seen most of the team naked after every practice. None of them came close to Thorin's physique (except for maybe Dwalin). Looking down at his own body he couldn't help but feel small and slight.

"Um no. Sorry. I was uhhh just looking at the uhh machine you were… umm… using." God he sounded like a twelve year old girl. He hoped he didn't sound as pathetic as he thought.

"Oh? Did you want to try it out?" Thorin asked as he quickly extracted himself from the machine.

"Oh no. You can… carry on with what you were doing. I'm just going to…. Ummm" Think! He couldn't just leave right now. Thorin would think he was a little girl with a little crush. His eyes glanced over every machine in the gym. He didn't know how to work any of them except the arm ones and he couldn't use those because that would bring him too close to Thorin. "I'm just going to use that machine over there" He pointed to the most random machine in the gym. It would give him enough distance from Thorin though. Then he could quietly make his way out. "You can just… carry on." He quickly grabbed his water and walked as fast as he could to the machine, trying to resist the urge to look back.

Once he reached the machine he looked at it dumbstruck. He had no idea how to use this. It was some form of a chest press. There was a tiny illustration showing him what he should look like when he did it. It didn't seem too complicated. With one last look at the picture he settled himself into the supine position it showed. He was so invested in getting into the right position he didn't hear Thorin creep up behind him.

"You're doing it wrong." He was so shocked to hear his voice his instantly shot up and smashed his head into one of the medal bars.

"Ouch!" He instantly brought his hand up to rub the sore spot. It was more his pride that was wounded.

"Careful! I said you were doing it wrong. Here" He felt a large hand on his chest. Gently pushing him down so he was laying down again. He never noticed how big Thorin's hands were, or maybe his chest was just small. Maybe it was a bit of both. He decided to concentrate on that instead of Thorin's chest which was directly in his field of vision.

"First off you have to adjust the seat to your size. I'm pretty sure Dwalin was the last one to use this, so it's going to be way too big for you." He watched as Thorin bent over him to reach the seat handle. He twisted it a couple times and Bilbo could feel himself being lowered. He marveled at home much more comfortable his position was now.

"Oh? Yes. Ha. Knew I was forgetting something" he managed to bumble out.

Thorin just seemed to ignore him as he reached over Bilbo once more to adjust something else. He noted that Thorin's hand was still resting across his chest.

"Then you have to adjust the weights. Like I said Dwalin was the last one to use it. He's going to be able to lift a lot more than you, so just set the weight to something low, and if you feel it's too easy you can adjust it after ok?"

He just nodded his head. He felt like an idiot.

"Now, all you need to do is lift your chest up as if you're doing a sit-up. Make sure your chest is square with the pad and try to lift, if it's too easy to lift than just change the weight ok?" Bilbo just nodded. He was honestly too embarrassed to say anything else.

"Alright, now let's see you try!" His eyes widened in horror. Great. Now Thorin was going to be watching him. There was no way he could mess this up. It shouldn't be too hard. He was used to doing sit-ups at practise. Having a form of resistance shouldn't be too hard.

He was actually surprised at how easy it was. It didn't feel any different from doing a normal sit-up. He then realized it was probably because Thorin thought he was weak and set the weight on its lowest setting. He was pretty sure a ten year old girl could do what he just did.

"Good job! Did you feel the muscles at all? You're supposed to feel it here" He then gestured to his own stomach muscles. Bilbo was forced to stare at Thorin's well-defined six-pack as he explained which muscles this machine was supposed to use.

"Yeah I umm… Think I'm going to try it on a higher setting. I'm pretty sure a little girl could do what I just did there." He made a nervous laugh as he bent over to adjust the weights a bit. When he was satisfied he turned around to see Thorin still there.

"Ok" he said as he started the exercise once more. It was defiantly harder this time around. He thought he heard Thorin say something about doing it ten times. He got to about eight before he felt like he was going to die. His stomach was on fire and he felt like he was about to puke. He opened his eyes (which he didn't even know he had closed) to see Thorin cheering him on, throwing out encouraging phrases. He only had two left but suddenly they seemed easier with Thorin encouraging him from the side.

As soon as he finished he curled up in a little ball, for some reason it was the most comfortable position for him. He rubbed his hands across his burning stomach muscles. He was aware that Thorin was standing over him and talking to him, but he couldn't hear what he was saying. He was too busy trying to breathe.

Once he got his breathing under control he felt Thorin's hands on his shoulders as he carefully forced Bilbo to uncurl himself. Once he was free Bilbo noticed that Thorin had a big smile on his face. It was the first time he had ever seen the man without a frown on his face. It made him look years younger and if possible, more handsome.

"Good job Bilbo! Before you know if you will have abs of steel!" He said as his patted Bilbo's stomach. Bilbo once again had to wonder if Thorin's hands were that big, or was he really that small?

"Hmmm I doubt I will be doing that again. Going to stick to running I think!" He managed to force out a laugh.

"Oh no! I'm giving you a break tomorrow because of our game, but next fitness practise I want you doing two reps on this machine. Only this one for now. You can run the rest of the time, but will you at least do two reps here for me?" Thorin was still smiling, and Bilbo thought there was no way he could say no. A couple stomach exercises wouldn't hurt him. He had a runner's build and he doubted he would be able to put on any actual muscle, but if it made Thorin smile at him like that, then it might just be worth it.

"Fine then, but only this machine!"

"Only this one. I promise."

"Ok…" Once again he tried not to look at Thorin's naked chest in front of him, but he really didn't have anywhere else to look from his position. "Abs of steel you say?"

"Yes! I'm sure I can work something out with you" He jokingly said as he poked Bilbo in the side once more. Once again Bilbo felt his entire face flush. He hoped Thorin only thought it was excursion from the exercise and not embarrassment.

He quickly extricated himself from the machine. A quick glance at his watch showed the workout was almost over.

"I'm gunna to stretch and then take off… Um… are you going to finish or?" He didn't even know what he was asking.

"Oh. No. I have to finish off my routine. I guess I will see you tomorrow then?"

He shook his head in approval. "Yep! Big game. Don't worry. I think we will pull it off. First game of the year and all, but I think we've got a good team!" He hoped he sounded more confident than he felt.

"Yeah. Don't let nerves get to you though. I remember by first game. You're really good Bilbo, too good to let little things like nerves get to you. Just remember to keep your head up ok?"

"Yeah. Sure. I will see you tomorrow then." After a quick nod he made his way back to the dressing rooms to stretch. He couldn't do it with Thorin watching him. He had no idea what came over him back there. He had seen plenty of men naked before. Thorin wasn't even naked, he was just shirtless. Normally it didn't bother him. He wasn't one to take his own clothes off in public, but after three weeks with The Gold-Diggers he was used to seeing others. Thorin was just so impressive.

He was embarrassed to look down and see himself begin to get hard. _Damnit! _This was the last thing he needed before the season started. He didn't have a crush on Thorin. It couldn't be that. He was straight. Maybe there was nothing wrong with getting hard at the site of your captain. I mean, Thorin was pretty cut. It's just a natural reaction. Whatever it was, he was going to have to get it sorted… and soon!

* * *

**YAY! The next chapter will not take me too long. There will actually be a soccer game next chapter! Lemme know what you think!**


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